


What lies in the Department of Mysteries

by FreakyAmyy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fae, Blind Sirius Black, Department of Mysteries, Everything could change, Fae Magic, I Don't Even Know, Not Canon Compliant, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Regulus Black Lives, Sirius Black Lives, Unspeakable Draco Malfoy, rating could change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-01-05 17:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18370598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyAmyy/pseuds/FreakyAmyy
Summary: Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy fear for their son's life. They ask old friends for help and the Unspeakable Augustus Rookwood decides to offer protection to the Malfoy Heir by taking him into the Department of Mysteries as an Initiate.But what lies in the DOM is something that should stay in the Department and new Initiates will find themselves between experiments to try and cure werewolves, the odd floating brain, and the resident Fae while they dive into the Departments secrets.





	1. Protection was found

Lord Lucius Arcturus Malfoy was a man who showed himself to be in control in all situations. This was not the case now - especially not now, because the Lord he had thought dead for about 13 years had returned and he had punished him for his loosing of the journal given to him to watch over by using Malfoy Manor as the base of his operation. Though it seemed as if this was not yet punishment enough for losing something as precious as this diary his Lord had given to him, as the Dark Lord had been hinting at punishing him - and more so his wife and the Malfoy name by extension - by hurting or even killing his son. 

This was worse than anything that the Malfoy Lord could imagine and so he turned to old friends to try and find some way to keep his son out of the way of his Lord’s wrath. One of these friends he had made in his school days and throughout the last war was Augustus Rookwood. Rookwood worked at the Department of Mysteries - the Department of Mysteries - since shortly after he got out of school. He was recruited when Lucius himself was in his fourth year and recruited around the same time the Malfoy Lord was - when he was already through the initiation phase and working fully in the Department. He helped the cause mostly with information from the Ministry but first and foremost he was loyal to the Department of Mysteries and not marked like so many others. 

Rookwood gave Lucius an option which would not only protect his son from the Dark Lord but also from the Ministry should the war end in their favor. This protection had a prize, of course: The Malfoy Heir would have to stop his education in Hogwarts and would be trained by the Department of Mysteries personally. If this was a drawback with how much damage Albus Dumbledore had done to Hogwarts since he started working there, could be debated, but it would surely hurt the Malfoy Heir‘s political and social connections.

But Lucius and Narcissa - as well as Draco - decided that protection was more important than anything else. Especially in these times. And protection from both sides of the war was worth virtually anything in their eyes.

Rookwood promised to make sure to get Draco into the Department of Mysteries as an initiate before the school year started. Before they could make any step toward this, however, the Dark Lord needed to be informed and approve it - which meant making sure he had no idea it was for the Malfoy Heir’s protection. 

The subject was breached by Rookwood in the middle of June - after Draco had turned 15 but early enough that sending a withdrawal to Hogwarts wouldn’t result in a huge scandal. Thankfully the Dark Lord was enthusiastic about the idea: more spies in the Ministry was always good, even if it took his opportunity to punish one of his followers. But the Malfoy Lord himself and his wife were still within his grasp so it wasn’t too upsetting. 

\-------------------

„Your primary tasks, for now, will be helping various members of the Unspeakables with their tasks by getting files from this room to their offices or wherever they are working at the moment. On top of that, you may sometimes be asked to help out in various ways by others. It doesn‘t matter who is asking or what is happening, finish the task set by someone before moving onto the next except when I or the Head Unspeakable tell you to.“ 

Draco continued looking slightly up at Rookwood while they walked through the Ministry. They had a privacy bubble spelled around them because discussing DOM issues was better done like this or directly in the Department, no matter how much you trusted the people around you - and they did not trust the people around them all that much anyways. 

They stepped into the elevator and Rookwood stopped talking in favor of listening to the people around them. He put his hand on Draco’s shoulder, pulling him close, when Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody stepped inside from the DMLE floor, followed by a slew of tiny paper planes on the way to their recipient.

Draco was tense until Mad-Eye left and they were more or less alone again. The ride took about 5 minutes from the last official Ministry Floor down to the DOM and Rookwood took that time to remind the Malfoy Heir of the one thing that was most important for him from now on: “And remember: do not give your name to anyone down here. There are beings housed in the chambers of the DOM that will use the power you give them with your name against you. From now on and any time you are wearing the robes of the DOM you are Initiate Zircon until such a time where you are awarded the rank of an Unspeakable. No matter what, your loyalty lies first and foremost with the DOM. Any people you see that should either be dead or shouldn’t even exist you just … don’t talk about it outside the DOM.”

Draco nodded. He may come off as immature to the people that only saw him outside of the Slytherin common room but he had been trained to take on the Malfoy Lordship since he could talk. He knew when he had to be serious - and this would be the point where he would stay as serious as the Malfoy Lord should be. 

The elevator stopped and the two stepped outside and into the entrance area of the DOM - the only room anyone other than an Unspeakable could get into without setting off every alarm in the Department. 

Rookwood guided Draco toward a side room where the Unspeakable robes hung - Initiates wore the same. The robes made it impossible for anyone that wasn’t wearing one as well to see under the hood. Voices, of course, could still be differentiated, but not many Unspeakables spoke in robes outside of the DOM. Both downed their robes and went through big double doors into the Department.


	2. Chapter 2

Augustus turned to the door to the side from the entrance labeled with >Offices<. He took off the hood of his robe and didn’t even turn around to tell Draco that he should familiarise himself with the Department and would know when he was needed. Draco took off his hood as well and turned to walk along the long hallway that made up the core of the DOM. He was fascinated even just by the descriptions of the rooms. 

“Brains, huh? Not gonna check that one ‘till I have to …”, he murmured under his breath while walking by a door labeled >Brain Research and Bewitchment<. A bit further down he found what he was looking for. The room was simply labeled >Library< but he knew that this Library was more extensive and full of banned books than even the Malfoy Library. Draco smiled happily as he entered the big room - three stories with each one being 16 feet high stacked with shelves and walls full of books, as well as an extra level with desks, sitting areas and fireplaces for research and leisure reading. 

Humming, he began to browse the lowest level of the DOM Library - mostly full of books you would find in any a bit high-end bookstore or out in the open in the Libraries of purebloods - picking out a book on advanced potions he knew they had at home and had wanted to read for a while but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. 

Draco went up to the highest level of the library, where the research and reading area was located. The area was almost empty - he could see someone in Unspeakable robes with shortish black hair at a desk along the wall and a few others further into the room. 

The Malfoy Heir sat down and took out a notebook before he started to page though the potion book, not really paying attention to what was happening around him. 

He got pulled out of his research - the potion book included a few very interesting properties of herbs used in simple potions - by a giggle right beside his ear and the feeling you get when someone is far too close for liking. Draco quickly turned around and leaned a bit away from the person behind him.

It was a girl with long hair like fire, eyes like a forest after rain, dressed in a yellow dress with a Raven sitting on her shoulder. She was smiling brightly and waved a bit with her hand. “Hey! You’re the new initiate, right? May I have your name?”

Draco shook his head slightly to get out of the stupor realising this girl must be one of the beings housed and protected put him in, and smiled slightly at her. “You may call me Initiate Zircon, though I’m afraid I cannot give you my name as I still need it. What are you called?”

The girl pouted slightly and sat down on the floor. “Why does nobody ever fall into my trap?” Draco raised his brow slightly at her but looked up when an Unspeakable approached. 

It was the black-haired one he had seen sitting a bit further into the room - he seemed to be leaving, books and parchment floating behind him. But to Draco there was a very uncanny resemblance to a few of the people on the Black Family Tapestry his mother had in her rooms. The storm gray eyes, high cheeks, soft looking lips. But then, Rookwood had told him that he may meet some who should be dead, so he should have expected this.

The Unspeakable looked down at the pouting girl and chuckled. “Adan, you’re the biggest if not only reason why the rule even exists. We won’t forget to tell new Initiates about it. Ever.” The girl - Adan, apparently - let her head fall back and looked at the Unspeakable upside down.

“Awwww Onyx, come on, I can at least try!” - “You can try but don’t complain when it doesn’t work.” The Unspeakable shook his head, slightly exasperated, and looked up at Draco, smiling and holding out his hand over Adan on the floor.

“You may call me Unspeakable Onyx, Initiate Zircon. I require your assistance with something.” Draco stood quickly and took the hand, smiling as well. “A pleasure to meet you Unspeakable Onyx. I am available to assist you.”   
________________

Draco and the Unspeakable returned their books while the girl fluttered around them. The Malfoy had noticed that the girl wore no shoes when she stood again to run behind them. The raven hadn’t left her shoulder but tended to rub its head and beak against her hair, seemingly grooming her.

“Unspeakable Cintorin mentioned you’d be arriving this week, though I didn’t expect it quite this soon. I don’t think he told us why you needed protection though. Care to swap secrets?” 

Draco turned slightly to look at the blackhead, seeing a slight smirk and a twinkle in his eyes that he thought to have seen somewhere before. Maybe he was in the Daily Prophet last year? “I’ll tell you why I’m here if you tell me who you are.” He said simply, which got him a light laugh.

“We never stop being Slytherin, do we? That’s probably a good thing, if one considers the time and place we are in.” Onyx snickered but stopped when they reached a room near the end of the corridor. “Welcome to our research on Soul Magic, Initiate Zircon. This is my main area of work but others do come frequently to drop of information or help.”

Draco looked around the room - it was full of books, desks were situated against the back and both walls to the side. In the middle were two locked chests. Draco could feel the potent magic surrounding them and took a deep breath to center himself. Somewhere along the way the girl had disappeared but Draco didn‘t really think about this now.

“This Facility is relatively new - it actually came with me. That was about … 14-15 years ago.” The Unspeakable waved his wand and a few books came flying over to the desks. “Now. I am going to be making scans - you’ll be writing down everything I tell you in the ledgers.”

Draco’s eyes had narrowed when he got an approximate year but they widened again when he remembered. “You’re Regulus Black!” The Unspeakable chuckled. “Yes. Now, will you tell me why you need to be here other than making political connection at Hogwarts?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I MADE MOOOOOOORE
> 
> Also there'll be a Hogwarts Interlude in like next chapter  
> uhm do you want more INterludes? Regulus? Adan? eh??????????


	3. Interlude - McGonagall

On the 20th of July - right in the middle of the holidays - Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her home in the North of Scotland, drinking Tea and reading the Quibbler. She only read the Prophet on rare occasions and really only while school was in session, and both Xenophilius the late Pandora - who wrote the Quibbler - had been students she had loved and she enjoyed their newspaper (if only because it was a lot more factual than the Prophet). 

As the Transfigurations Professor reached for her tea a big Eagle Owl swooped in and landed on her table. Minerva raised her eyebrows; the Family best known for their use of the very expensive but secure and fast Eagle Owls were the Malfoys, and since the Heir had never had problems in school there was nothing she could think of that would be a need for them to write to her. 

She gave the owl a few treats and took the letter, confirming her suspicion of who sent it through the seal. “What would the Malfoy Lord need …” She hummed quietly while carefully opening the letter.

Dear Miss McGonagall,

I do very much hope that I am not interrupting your well deserved holidays overly much, but I wanted to inform you of this as soon as possible. 

I, as Lord Lucius Arcturus Malfoy, hereby withdraw my Son, Draconis Lucius Malfoy, from Hogwarts, School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, with the permission of the Department of Mysteries. The reason for this is his recruitment into the Unspeakable Force, which requires or him to be taught there as well. 

I will keep the rest of this letter short, Deputy Headmistress, but there are more things I would like you to know, not as a friend, but as someone who I trust with this information. Another version of this letter has been included, should Dumbledore demand it. I hope very much that I did not misplace my trust.

The war will start again, fully, soon. Be ready for it, for if you are not, you will not be able to protect your students. This is a warning, not a threat. Draco was put into the DOM for his protection, for the Dark Lord seems more insane now than he did at the end of the First War. 

Look after your students this year, Minerva, there will be danger for them not coming from the Dark Lord. Especially Potter, for what he said at the end of this year. You may guess now, from where the danger comes, but I will not tell you directly. 

Have a good rest of the Holidays and Blessed Be,

Lord Lucius Arcturus Malfoy  
Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy 

McGonagall slowly laid the letter back down. She didn’t know Lucius very well, nor did she Narcissa or Arcturus - Lucius’ Father - But she had been on friendly terms with his mother, who had been in Ravenclaw, while in school herself which turned to being invited to parties and tea at Malfoy manor regularly.

This, in turn, meant that she had been to Lucius’ 17th birthday and the wedding, as a “family friend” more than anything and had seen a side of the Malfoy Lord only very few would even believe existed. 

This, and the fact that it didn’t matter who they were, she would always protect her student, meant that the letter that found itself to Hogwarts and Dumbledore was not the one she had read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It isn't long ... but HEY AT LEAST IT'S A CHAPTER, RIGHT????
> 
> I am a failure :/


End file.
